Storm Lorenzo The
National Hurricane Center in
Miami,
Florida began monitoring a
tropical wave emerging from the
west coast of Africa on 19 September, which subsequently developed into Hurricane Lorenzo by 25 September. The system continued to intensify, ultimately becoming the easternmost
Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic Ocean. On 26 September, the
Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA) began issuing advisories for Hurricane Lorenzo. The
National Hurricane Center issued hurricane and tropical storm watches on 30 September for the
Azores, which were later upgraded to warnings. Lorenzo began undergoing
extratropical transition on 2 October, while passing over the Azores a few hours before the National Hurricane Center issued their 09:00 UTC advisory. The subsequent (and final) advisory stated that Lorenzo had become a post-tropical cyclone, which was subsequently named Storm Lorenzo by
Met Éireann The
Met Office issued yellow wind warnings for
Northern Ireland,
Cornwall and parts of
Devon and
south-west Wales. The same buoy also recorded a maximum wave height of . On 4 October, while the storm was passing across Ireland, new weather warnings were issued for the counties of
Clare,
Galway,
Longford,
Mayo,
Roscommon and
Westmeath. The highest recorded wind gust was , with the highest 10-minute mean at , both recorded at Mace Head. Storm Lorenzo continued to weaken as it moved away from Ireland into the
Irish Sea, with the United States-based
Ocean Prediction Center ceasing to monitor Lorenzo on 4 October after it crossed the
United Kingdom. Now little more than a weak frontal zone, Storm Lorenzo made landfall in northern
Germany on 5 October, subsequently moving over eastern Europe the following day before dissipating on 7 October while moving into
Russia. Power was cut to almost 20,000 homes in Ireland at the height of the storm, with flooding occurring throughout the country. The
River Eske partially flooded
Donegal as result of nearly of rain falling as high tide was approaching. The amount of damage country-wide, however, was less than anticipated. The storm's only known fatality while it was extratropical occurred when a tree fell on a person in
Stafford. However, Lorenzo had been responsible for nineteen further fatalities, including seven crew members of the capsized French cargo ship
Bourbon Rhode who were never found. During its combined lifespan as a major hurricane and a European windstorm, Lorenzo caused at least £285 million (€340 million) in damage.
Storm Amélie (Arne) The low-pressure system that would later become Amélie was first noted on 31 October between
Canada and
Greenland over the
Labrador Sea. After emerging into the open Atlantic, the system was named Storm Amélie by
Météo-France The French meteorological agency expected wind gusts up to and possibly surpassing locally at the western coast at the time of naming the storm. Storm Amélie underwent
explosive cyclogenesis on 2 November while located over the open north Atlantic, reaching a minimum central pressure of . Amélie subsequently made landfall on
Brittany's Atlantic coast in the early hours of 3 November, bringing wind gusts of to at
Cap Ferret. Amélie also brought wind gusts up to along the northern coast of Spain, including a record-setting gust for
Santander Airport. Besides causing numerous fallen trees and power outages for 140,000 properties, Amélie also triggered a landslide in
Nice in the south of France, resulting in the only known fatality from the storm. The
SNCF temporarily closed a
TGV line between
Hendaye and
Bordeaux due to debris on the tracks, causing some 2,000 passengers to be stranded for up to 15 hours. Damage from Amélie across France, Italy and Spain totalled more than £110 million (€120 million). After crossing
Poland on 5 November as a weak frontal boundary, Amélie stalled over the
Baltic states on 6 November, before being absorbed by an approaching
warm front over
Estonia on 9 November.
Storm Bernardo (Detlef) The precursor to Storm Bernardo was first noted as a deep low over north-eastern
Canada on 7 November. After considerably weakening and crossing the Atlantic without any notable impacts, the system was named
Bernardo by the
State Meteorological Agency of Spain (AEMET) on 9 November as it was approaching the
Iberian Peninsula from the
Bay of Biscay. and formed an
eye-like feature, leading several media outlets to report that the storm had
medicane-like characteristics. However, AEMET did not confirm that the storm had reached medicane status. After losing its brief eye-like feature, Bernardo followed the coast of
Algeria, remaining closely offshore as it moved eastwards across the Mediterranean before stalling over southern Italy for two days. Bernardo then accelerated to the north-east as a weak frontal boundary, moving over the
Baltic states on 14 November and into northern
Russia on 15 November. After briefly reintensifying and then weakening once more, Bernardo was last noted as a weak low over
Siberia on 18 November. When first issuing warnings for Storm Bernardo, AEMET expected wave heights of up to around the
Balearic Islands and along the coast of several Spanish provinces bordering the
Bay of Biscay. They also forecasted precipitation up to in the form of snow over the
Cantabrian Mountains above , and rainfall up to within 12 hours in the provinces of
Cantabria,
Navarra,
Basque Country and
Asturias. In Asturias, the regional meteorological agency warned of the risk of
avalanches due to snow accumulation. Wind gusts were forecasted to reach up to . However, impacts from Bernardo were ultimately minimal. A fallen tree in Mallorca caused the only known fatality from the storm, and little damage was reported along its track.
Storm Cecilia (Luis) The precursor to Storm Cecila was first noted as a developing low between
the Carolinas and
Bermuda on 16 November. It subsequently deepened and slowly moved north-eastwards parallel to the
East Coast of the United States, before crossing
Newfoundland and emerging into the open Atlantic by 21 November. At this point, the system was named
Cecilia by the
State Meteorological Agency of Spain (AEMET), who issued warnings for rain and wind impacts across the
Iberian Peninsula and on the
Balearic Islands. Cecila intensified as it crossed the Atlantic and reached its peak intensity of in the
Bay of Biscay on 23 November before making landfall in northern Spain. Along the coast, wind gusts of up to were recorded at
Cap Machichaco in
Biscay province. During the storm, a chemical transport ship ran aground at the
Galician coast. However, overall impacts were minimal across Spain. Cecilia weakened as it crossed the Iberian Peninsula and emerged into the
Mediterranean Sea, crossing
Italy as a weak frontal system on 25 November. Continuing slowly eastwards, Cecilia was last noted over the
Black Sea on 28 November before being absorbed by
Storm Sebastien over southern
Ukraine on 29 November.
Storm Sebastien A large area of disturbed weather persisted over the central subtropical Atlantic in mid-November. On 19 November, this area of thunderstorm activity developed sufficiently to be designated Tropical Storm Sebastien by the
National Hurricane Center in
Miami,
Florida. After several days of slow movement, Sebastien accelerated towards the north-east and began slowly losing tropical characteristics. The system completed its
extratropical transition late on 24 November, After becoming extratropical, Storm Sebastien began to re-intensify as it was now situated in a favourable
baroclinic environment. Shortly before landfall on the south coast of
Ireland on 26 November, Sebastien reached its peak intensity of around . Sebastien maintained this intensity for around two days as it crossed Ireland and the
United Kingdom and entered the
North Sea, before slowly weakening as it made landfall in
Denmark on 29 November. Heavy rainfall was the primary threat from Storm Sebastien. As the storm approached the United Kingdom, the
Met Office issued yellow weather warnings for heavy rainfall in
Northern England,
South West England and
South Wales. Many of these areas had already been impacted by
ongoing flooding, and the
Environment Agency issued seven "danger to life" flood warnings in
Yorkshire and 60 flood alerts across
England and
Wales as a result. presented additional hazards, with waves forecasted to reach up to . Across southern England, up to of rain was recorded as Sebastien made landfall on 27 November. Flooding and wind damage was reported on the
Isle of Wight. Minor
coastal flooding was also reported in the
Fareham area, although far less severe than had been forecasted.
Storm Atiyah (Rudi) A low was first noted to be developing off the coast of
New England by the
Ocean Prediction Center on 5 December. The following day, as the low continued to develop and move eastwards across the far north Atlantic,
Met Éireann named the system
Atiyah and issued orange wind warnings for the western counties of
Ireland and yellow warnings for the remainder of the country. At that time, the agency expected mean wind speeds of and gusts of up to on 8 December across Ireland. On 8 December, a red weather warning was issued for
County Kerry due to the increasing risk of high wind impacts. The centre of Storm Atiyah passed just to the north of
Scotland on 8 December at its peak intensity of . High winds were recorded across the United Kingdom and Ireland, cutting power to 34,000 homes, downing trees and causing disruption throughout both countries. The Kernow Weather Team recorded an unofficial wind gust of in
Illogan, Cornwall,
Météo-France recorded the highest confirmed wind gust related to Atiyah of , recorded at
Cap Bear in
Pyrénées-Orientales,
France. After widespread impacts across western Europe, Atiyah continued to move away from the region, making landfall in northern
Norway on 10 December. Atiyah weakened rapidly as it continued eastwards, and it was last noted as a weak frontal system over
Siberia on 13 December. Throughout its lifespan, Atiyah caused at least £40 million (€44 million) in damage. and it was officially named by the
State Meteorological Agency of Spain (AEMET) later that day. After making landfall in Portugal, Storm Daniel moved north-eastwards across the
Iberian Peninsula into the
Bay of Biscay, making a second landfall in southern
Brittany,
France as a weak
trough on 17 December. Accelerating north-eastwards across
Benelux and
Denmark, Daniel began to slowly intensify, reaching its peak intensity of over southern
Finland on 19 December. Daniel subsequently began to weaken and unravel as a coherent system, dissipating over western
Russia by 21 December. During the passage of Storm Daniel, the use of
snow chains on car tyres became necessary to navigate sections of the
N-630 road in central Spain, while the
Puerto de Pajares mountain pass was closed to trucks,
articulated vehicles and buses due to blizzard conditions. The strongest wind gust from Storm Daniel was measured at
La Pinilla ski resort in
Segovia,
Spain, reaching . of rain fell at
Riaño, León during the passage of the storm. and subsequently tracked gradually north-eastward, bottoming out at along the coast of
Canada on 16 December. At this time, the
Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA) named the low
Elsa. and stalled for four days to the west of the
British Isles, fluctuating in intensity. On 21 December, Elsa finally began accelerating to the east ahead of
Storm Fabien, which was approaching Elsa from the west. Elsa passed north of
Scotland and made landfall in
Norway before being absorbed by an unnamed secondary low, approaching from the south, by 22 December. As Storm Elsa slowly approached,
Met Éireann issued a nationwide yellow weather warning for
Ireland, followed on 18 December by an upgrade to an orange warning for
County Cork. The yellow warnings for counties
Galway and
Mayo were further upgraded to orange warnings at 20:00 local time that day, around an hour before the storm made its closest and most intense approach to Ireland. Severe flooding and extreme gusts were reported along the County Galway coastline. Close to 22:00, a
storm surge breached the Promenade on
Salthill in
Galway City; over 50 cars were lost to the floodwaters. Besides the flooding, a ship ran aground after being forced onto coastal rocks by rough seas. Severe flooding was also reported in the
Spanish Arch, Port of Galway,
Oranmore and
Kinvara areas of Galway. Gusts of up to were reported at the
Mace Head weather station on the West Galway coast. Fallen trees were reported across the city and county, blocking numerous roads leading to Galway City. Around 22:30,
Galway City Council activated its Emergency Response Plan and issued a notice warning people to stay indoors and to remain there unless it was of extreme importance. A similar warning was issued by
Galway County Council. Members of the
Gardaí, National Ambulance Service, Galway Fire Service and
Civil Defence Ireland were deployed to
Salthill and conducted searches on cars trapped in floodwaters. The highest wind gust recorded during the storm was , which was reached at
Cerler-Cogulla in
Province of Huesca, Spain. More than 140,000 properties lost electricity during the passage of the storm, and damage totals ultimately reached at least £74 million (€81 million). The low broke free from this front and drifted northeastwards along the
east coast of the United States, emerging into the Atlantic Ocean east of
Newfoundland on 19 December. At that time, the
State Meteorological Agency of Spain (AEMET) named the low
Fabien, warning for wind speeds of and wave heights of . Storm Fabien rapidly intensified as it crossed the Atlantic, its progress slightly slowed down by the presence of
Storm Elsa which had already been situated almost stationary over the north Atlantic for several days prior to Fabien's formation. After initially pushing Elsa along ahead of itself, Fabien subsequently accelerated to the south of Elsa and reached its peak intensity of while approaching landfall in
South West England on 21 December. After crossing southern England, Fabien began to slow down and weaken, crossing over
central Europe on 23 December before stalling for several days while centred over
Cyprus as a weak
trough along a
stationary front from 24 December. After slowly drifting back northwards, Fabien made landfall on
Ukraine's
Black Sea coastline on 28 December, and dissipated shortly thereafter. Despite the centre of Storm Fabien making landfall in southern England, the previous interaction with Storm Elsa to Fabien's north meant that the strongest winds were confined to the southern side of the storm, in particular across
France. The
SNCF canceled services in southwestern France as a result of high winds blowing trees onto railway tracks On
Corsica, a wind gust of was recorded, besides numerous fallen trees. All of the island's airports were closed and the ferry service between the island and the mainland was suspended as well. A wind gust of was also recorded in Galicia. A train crashed into a fallen tree on the railway line between Vigo and Barcelona; no fatalities were reported. This low moved slowly northeastwards across the
United States without much development, crossing over
Atlantic Canada and emerging into the Atlantic Ocean on 12 January. The low began to undergo
explosive intensification as soon as it entered the Atlantic, and on 13 January
Met Éireann named the low
Brendan. The next day, the centre of Storm Brendan passed over the
Faroe Islands at its peak intensity of , becoming the most intense storm of the season up to that point. Brendan subsequently stalled southeast of
Iceland and began to slowly weaken as secondary lows accelerated around its large southern periphery. On 17 January, the much weakened centre of Storm Brendan's primary circulation made landfall in northern
Norway, subsequently accelerating eastwards; it was last noted as a weakening frontal system over northeastern
Russia on 19 January. Storm Brendan made its closest approach to
Ireland and the
United Kingdom while at peak intensity late on 13 January, with the centre of the storm remaining just offshore to the north of
Scotland. However, Brendan's large size resulted in impacts across the
British Isles. Power outages were reported across Ireland, with more than 100,000 properties without electricity at the height of the storm. Transport was severely disrupted, with ferry cancellations across
Scotland. All schools in the
Outer Hebrides were closed as a result of dangerously high winds. The highest wind gust reported during Storm Brendan was , recorded at
Aonach Mòr in the
Scottish Highlands. Preliminary damage totals as a result of Storm Brendan ran into the millions of dollars, and one person was killed.
Storm Gloria (Ilka) The system that would eventually become Storm Gloria was first noted as a developing complex of low-pressure systems over the central United States on 9 January. A large
trough associated with the low dug into the
Southwestern United States from 10 January, providing a path for cold air that had been settled over
Canada to move southwards and clash with warm, moist air moving northward from the
Gulf of Mexico. This provided conditions for the low to develop and intensify as it moved eastwards across the
United States before exiting into the north Atlantic on 13 January. After stalling off the coast of North America for several days, the system began moving steadily eastwards across the open Atlantic on 17 January, reaching a peak intensity of around that time. The
State Meteorological Agency of
Spain (AEMET) named the low
Gloria on 18 January, issuing the first severe weather warnings as the storm was approaching the
Iberian Peninsula. After turning southeastwards and entering the
Bay of Biscay, Gloria subsequently made landfall close to
Santander in northern Spain on 19 January. Gloria quickly passed over northern Spain as a weak cyclone and then emerged into the western Mediterranean Sea, where it stalled for several days. After remaining nearly stationary near the
Balearic Islands for around 48 hours, Gloria began to slowly drift southwards and then westwards, passing over the
Strait of Gibraltar and northern
Morocco on 22 January before emerging into the far eastern Atlantic on 23 January. After looping for several days offshore to the south and west of
Portugal, Gloria dissipated on 25 January off the country's
southern coast. High winds and heavy rainfall caused severe damage along the path of Gloria. The highest recorded wind gust during the storm was . Gloria's exceptionally slow movement resulted in severe flash flooding across northeastern Spain and southern France. In total, across
France,
Portugal and
Spain, seventeen people were killed as a result of Storm Gloria, including three people whose bodies were never found. Preliminary damage totals relating to Gloria are at least £150 million (€180 million).
Storm Hervé (Petra) Storm Hervé originated as a weak
shortwave disturbance along a frontal boundary over the
Azores on 2 February. Slowly developing as it drifted northeastwards along the frontal boundary,
Météo-France named the weak low
Hervé during the afternoon of 3 February. After landfall, Hervé accelerated southeastwards into
Central Europe at a considerable forward pace, reaching its overall peak intensity of on 5 February while centred over
Romania. Hervé began to slow down and gradually weaken on 6 February as it emerged over the
Black Sea; this weakening trend accelerated on 7 February, when Hervé degenerated back into a shortwave trough following landfall in far southern
Russia. Hervé was last noted moving into eastern
Turkey on 8 February, dissipating by the next day. The most considerable impacts from Storm Hervé were felt in Central Europe. Strong wind gusts and flooding led to two deaths in
Austria, and another person died in the
Czech Republic as a result of Hervé. Overnight on 3–4 February, as Hervé was approaching from the west, it brought the highest winds recorded in
Switzerland since 1981, also severely impacting southern
Germany and
Austria around the same time. The highest wind gust recorded during the storm was at
Cap Corse in
Corsica,
France.
Storm Ciara (Sabine) On 4 February 2020, the
Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for wind covering all of the United Kingdom across the following weekend due to high confidence in the model forecasts for a potential high-impact storm, although the system involved had not yet formed and no name was issued for it at that time. The next day, Storm Ciara was formally named by the Met Office; It formed out of a weak area of low pressure emerging into the Atlantic Ocean from the
southeastern United States earlier that day; the precursor system had previously brought heavy snowfall to large tracts of the United States and Eastern Canada, with tornadoes across the southern and mid-Atlantic states. On 6 February,
Met Éireann issued a country-wide yellow wind and rain warning for Saturday 8 February through Sunday 9 February, expecting average wind speeds from and gusts up to and rainfall of up to . Additional orange wind warnings were issued for the counties
Galway,
Mayo and
Donegal on 7 February. The
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) issued a country-wide yellow wind warning on 7 February, expecting wind gusts up to . The same date, the Met Office issued an amber warning for southeast England for Sunday. The rest of the United Kingdom remained under a yellow wind warning. The agency expects gusting of across the country, with the possibility of gusts up to along the coastal regions. On 8 February, the KNMI updated their warning to orange for wind gusts up to in the whole country. The
Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) also postponed all premier league matches set for 9 February. On 9 February, the storm set above Belgium; due to the strong winds, the
Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB) postponed all football events on this day and also the
Vlaamse Aardbeiencross was cancelled. Ciara caused an estimated €500 million in damage in Germany.
Storm Inès (Tomris) Inès was named by the French meteorological agency,
Météo-France, on 12 February 2020. The agency issued yellow and orange warnings for wind speeds of up to in the northern parts of the country. It affected primarily France with wind speeds up to and surpassing on 13 February, It was quickly nicknamed "Dennis the Menace," as a reference from
The Beano character of the same name.
Storm Jorge (Charlotte) Jorge was named by the Spanish meteorological agency on 27 February. The agency warned for seas up to high and snow from . while in the United Kingdom the
Met Office issued yellow wind warnings for all of Wales and Northern Ireland, most of England and parts of Scotland before it even hit Iceland.
Storm Karine (Diana III) Storm Karine was named by AEMET on 29 February to impact on 2 March. The storm was named before Leon, however Leon developed before Karine on 1 March and so alphabetical order does not correspond to chronological order of these two storms.
Storm Leon (Diana II) Storm Leon was named by MétéoFrance on 1 March to affect the country later the same day.
Storm Myriam Storm Norberto (Elli) Storm Edouard Tropical Storm Edouard's extratropical low began to slowly weaken on 8 July, turning eastward and continuing to move rapidly within the strong mid-latitude westerlies in the Atlantic. It crossed southern Ireland and the southern United Kingdom on 9 July and dissipated over the latter country that day, Edouard's extratropical remnants brought brief, but heavy, rain to the British Isles, the Netherlands, Germany, southern Denmark and north-west Poland between 8 July – 11 July 2020.
Storm Ellen Storm Ellen was named by the Irish Meteorological Office on 18 August 2020. On 18 August,
Met Éireann issued a Status Orange wind warning for counties
Galway,
Mayo,
Clare,
Cork,
Kerry,
Limerick and
Waterford for Wednesday, 19 August through Thursday, 20 August, expecting gusts of between 110 km/h and 130 km/h. On 19 August, a Status Red wind warning for
Cork was issued valid from Wednesday 19 August until midnight. On 20 August, Ellen absorbed the remnants of
Tropical Storm Kyle. Over 194,000 homes and businesses were left without power as the storm battered the country with severe gusts of up to which led to fallen trees and flooding overnight. On 20 August,
Met Éireann issued a Status Yellow wind warning for counties
Dublin,
Louth,
Wexford,
Wicklow,
Meath,
Cork,
Kerry and
Waterford, expecting very strong winds and a continued risk of coastal flooding.
Storm Francis (Kirsten) Storm Francis was named by the UK Met Office on 24 August. It was forecast to make landfall off the West Coast of Ireland on 25 August, with very severe winds, rain and impacts for most of the country, as well as the west of the UK. 2 yellow weather warnings for Wind & Rain were issued by the Met Office for the storm's impacts on 25 & 26 August. In Wales, Storm Francis was the cause of a large amount of flash flooding in the South of the country, as an indirect cause of this many homes were left without power.
Met Éireann issued Status Orange - Rainfall warning for
Connacht,
Cavan,
Monaghan,
Donegal,
Wexford,
Cork,
Kerry and
Waterford. This warning was issued on 24 August 2020 11:00 and valid between 24 August 2020 21:00 and 25 August 2020 17:00. Status Yellow - Rainfall warning was put in place for all remaining counties, including
Northern Ireland's counties. Eastern counties received Status Yellow - Wind warning as well. The KMI from Belgium issued an orange warning for summerstorm Francis. In The Netherlands the KNMI issued a yellow warning. The storm peaked with wind gusts up to .
Storm Odette (Wicca) == Other systems ==